Cookbook review: A taste of Cuba, with family touch

‘TO COOK IS TO LOVE’

BY JOHN VERLINDEN (LANGDON STREET PRESS, $21.99)

Quick look: The 200 highly approachable recipes in this Nuevo Cuban cookbook – billed as “equal parts conversation, cookbook and memoir” – emphasize lighter and faster renditions of traditional dishes.

What’s inside: John Verlinden, a personal chef who used to own a Cuban-American restaurant in Boston, pays homage to his Cuban-American mother-in-law in each of the book’s 11 chapters. Anecdotes are written from the point of view of Mami Aida, who welcomes readers into her kitchen and into her life story. Verlinden captures her friendliness and scrappiness as well as the idiosyncrasies of her speech. English is her second language, and Verlinden writes as Mami Aida talks. In Chapter One – “Sabor A Mi,” or “A Taste of Me,” Mami Aida says, for example, “America is the best! The best! She acepta me when we leave Cuba and my cheeldren grow up here. And many people in the United States very good to me.”

The book is dedicated to “the millions of creative cooks in Cuba today who struggle to put a meager meal on their family tables.” Chapters – with titles in both Spanish and English – are organized by Mami Aida’s vignettes – from “Otra Clase de Vida,” or “Another Kind of Life,” to “La Familia es Todo,” or “Family is Everything.” Stories detail her childhood in the countryside, getting married a few days after she turned 17, and coming and going between America and Cuba until the early 1960s, shortly after the revolution, when she settled in the U.S. for good.

Verlinden reinterprets some of his mother-in-law’s favorite classic Cuban dishes, like Ropa Vieja (see related story) and offers cooking tips, wine pairings, even recommendations for song selections for Cuban-themed dinner parties. There are recipes for Cuban coffee, beans and rice, chicken and rice, rice pudding, grilled shrimp and papaya, papaya and black bean salsa, chocolate flan, corn fritters, all kinds of empanadas, and much more. All are accessible and easy to follow for home cooks, even if they have no ties to the island country 90 miles south of Florida.

Like Mami Aida says, “Cuban food is very nutritious, is no expensive and is easy to make.”

What’s not: Although there’s an index of images in the back of the book, there are no captions accompanying the vintage family photos and copies of old postcards and other memorabilia sprinkled throughout. And, while there are five small food photographs on the back cover, there are no pictures of any of the dishes or drinks inside the book – not a one.

Tostones (Twice-Fried Green Plantains)

From “To Cook is to Love” by John Verlinden

A side dish or appetizer, tostones are fried twice for extra crispiness. Use the greenest plantains you can find.

3 large green plantains

Canola oil for frying

Salt or garlic salt

Remove peels from the plantains. Cut each plantain into about eight 1 ½-inch thick slices. In a deep fryer or deep heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil to 350 to 375 degrees. Carefully drop a small batch of the plantain rounds (6 to 8 pieces) into the oil and fry about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. While the plantains are still warm, place them one at a time between a couple thicknesses of heavy paper (a lunch-size brown paper bag is ideal), and flatten them gently but firmly with the heel of your hand until they are about a ½-inch thick. Return the tostones to the hot oil and fry them a second time for 2 minutes or more until they are golden and crispy. Drain them again on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and serve.

Yield: about 2 dozen

Moros Y Cristianos (Rice and Black Beans)

From “To Cook is to Love” by John Verlinden

2 cups dry black beans

8 cups water

2 bay leaves

Dry white wine, optional

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating

1 large green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups long-grain parboiled rice

Crisp, crumbled bacon, optional

In a colander, rinse the beans under cold running water, inspecting them as you go and removing any small stones or dirt the processor may have missed.

In a large casserole or wide, low Dutch oven, combine the beans and water and soak them for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Add the bay leaves, bring the beans to a boil over medium-high heat in the water they soaked in, reduce the heat, cover and let the beans simmer for about an hour or until tender.

Drain the beans over a bowl or large measuring cup to catch the liquid, and set them aside in a large bowl. Return the bean liquid to the pot. Add dry white wine, if needed, to make 4 cups.

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until fragrant, add the onion and green pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the garlic and dry spices, and sauté for about 2 minutes more or until the onion is translucent and tender.

Add the mixture and the rice to the pot with the bean liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in the beans and continue cooking for about 10 minutes more or until the rice is tender.

Fluff the rice and beans and transfer them to a serving platter. Pour a few drops of olive oil into your hand, rub your hands together, and then touch the rice and beans with your palms, giving the dish a nice sheen. Garnish with crisp crumbled bacon.

Yield: 8 servings